Nikon D5500 Flash
Built-in Flash Test Results
Coverage, Exposure and Range
A fairly powerful pop-up flash with narrow coverage. Less than average exposure compensation required.
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| 18mm @ f/3.5 |
Coverage. Flash coverage was very narrow at wide angle (18mm), with very dark corners and edges. We no longer test coverage at telephoto, as it's invariably much better.
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| Normal Flash, f/4, 1/60s, +0.3 EV |
Slow-Sync Mode f/4, 1/13s, 0 EV |
Exposure. When it came to exposure, the D5500's built-in flash underexposed our Indoor Portrait subject slightly at its default setting, requiring +0.3 EV flash exposure compensation (which is actually less than the average of +0.7 EV required for this shot). The camera's Slow-Sync flash mode produced a bright exposure without flash exposure compensation (0 EV), though with a strong orange cast from the background incandescent lighting as a result of the slower shutter speed.
| Manufacturer-Specified Flash Range |
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 9.9 feet ISO 200 |
Manufacturer Specified Flash Range. The Nikon D5500's flash is rated with a Guide Number of 12/39 (m/ft) at ISO 100. That works out to about 9.9 feet at f/5.6 and ISO 200. As you can see in the flash range test shot above taken with those parameters, the Nikon D5500 produced an excellent flash exposure, indicating the flash output rating is credible.
Note: Here we shoot with manufacturer-specified camera settings, at the range the company claims for the camera, to assess the validity of the specific claims. The specified range has been calculated for the sensitivity, lens and aperture used in the test shot above.
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